B.C. Swifties who couldn't see Eras concert in person super excited about the film
Frenzied fans plan to dress in elaborate outfits, sing their hearts out and exchange friendship bracelets
Taylor Swift's Eras Tour movie is giving eager fans who couldn't score tickets to a live show — either due to prohibitive distances or costs — a chance to see the cultural juggernaut perform for a fraction of the cost.
Its a dream come true for superfan Carol Hansson who started a social media group dedicated to Swift fans in Prince George, B.C.
Hansson is organizing a viewing party Friday night after missing out on tickets to one of the megastar's live events.
"I am very excited to share the movie with my fellow Swifties," Hansson said.
Frenzied fans plan to dress in elaborate outfits, sing their hearts out and exchange friendship bracelets like they do at the Swift's shows, which still have dozens of dates across the globe on the calendar.
Hansson will be donning an outfit inspired by Swift's Lover Era concert tour to the screening.
"She's a musical genius, she's able to convey her passion and her feelings and her thoughts through her music in such different ways," Hansson said.
Swift's concert movie is proving to be a fairy tale for Canada's largest cinema chain too.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, hit Canadian theatres Thursday and generated $6.2 million in pre-sales for Cineplex Inc., making it the Toronto-based company's most successful event for pre-sales.
The chain managed to find space for the film to screen at 120 theatres Thursday after Swift moved up the release by a day, but its four-week run will see the movie make it to 150 cinemas throughout the country.
Small town concerns
Shaun Aqualine, co-owner of the Gem Theatre in Grand Forks, B.C., said committing to four weeks of screenings is a "big gamble," due to concerns the small town of 4,112 people won't be able to support the month-long run.
"Its sort of a hail Mary. We said yes and we are hoping that yes was the right choice," Aqualine said. "The terms are set and you either said yes, or no."
One of the terms for theatres is the slightly higher-than-normal ticket price which Swift set at $19.89, a nod to her birth year and the title of her multi-platinum 2014 album.
Despite his concerns, ticket sales for the film so far make up 57 per cent of all ticket sales at the theatre, which is currently screening 10 films.
Concert movies popular
Concert movies have been a popular genre for decades, with the most lucrative being Justin Bieber's 2011 film Never Say Never. Cameras followed the then-16-year-old pop star on his 2010 concert tour — the film raked in $73 million U.S. according to Billboard.com, followed closely by Michael Jackson's This Is It.
The Talking Head's classic film Stop Making Sense captures the band performing at Hollywood's Pantages Theatre in 1983. A remastered version will be playing to three sold out shows at the Rio Theatre in Vancouver starting Friday night.
The Rio's director Rachel Fox said big screen concert films are wildly popular because audiences feel like they are fully taking part in a live event — as opposed to viewing on a smart phone.
"Its a communal experience with a jolt of joy," Fox said. "You feel like you are at a concert."
And that's the best part of the experience for Hansson too.
"I feel ecstatic, excited and joyous. Tonight is going to be amazing and I'm so ready for it," she said.
With files from Canadian Press